Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Ancient Bhutan

The spectacular morning sunrise floods Arrunachal Pradesh
and spills into East Bhutan. Neighbouring Tawang is aptly named the Land of
Dawn Lit Mountains as Trashiyangtse is the Land of Spiritual Awakening. The
region sounds like a spot for morning people isn’t it? Yesterday I headed to
Zangtopelri to pray, Rinchen Wangmo was attending the alter unwrapping a bundle
of incense and pointing to the label she laid on the table, she quipped “Ancient
Tibetan” Suddenly a jolt from the Guru’s thunderbolt coursed through my body as
I realized where I was standing. Rinchen Wangmo herself was ancient in her
simplistic kira and earthy manner and I was in a remote gilded temple in the
heart of the Himalayan world. The sweet air filled my nostrils as a stream of
sunlight illuminated the supple features of Rinchen’s face, her babe strapped
to her back in colourfully stripped cloth. We had a nice conversation under the
tantric statues of fierce deities standing on the backs of a three dimensional
tiger. (Your author imagines a night at the museum scenario where all the
statues come to life after Rinchen locks the door) On my hike home I glided
through the cypress grove with its own array of odours to stimulate olfactory
delights. Ochre ferns decorated the floor and one hundred foot old cypress and clusters
of blue tinted pines rise to the canopy. Through the gaps the eye wanders out
into the river valley peering east into India. The grove is set on a steep
decline and the trail eventually connects with a ridgeline with an overgrown
path. The path is so overgrown that I found myself swallowing strands of spider
webs and at one point a large spider with yellow abdomen crawled down my arm
causing me to run in the other direction. Eventually I burrowed through the
overgrowth to a flat rock where I marvelled at the scenery; parallel on the
ridge was Tsenkharla Dzong the ruins of Prince Tsangma’s castle. Looking east
over the desolate wilderness it occurred to me how nothing has changed in 1,200
years or since inhabitants first ventured into this rough terrain.

About Me

I was raised in Marin County Cailifornia north of San Francisco. I was blessed growing up spending summers with my family on Donner Lake near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I earned my B.S in English and Writing from Southern Oregon University in Ashland. After college I spent some years skiing at Alpine Meadows before teaching ESL in South Korea for a year. I was fortunate to travel to Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia while in Asia. I was particularly fascinated by Khmer culture and enjoyed my visit to Angkor. I recently completed my teacher training at Dominican University in San Rafael receiving my California Credential. With the support of The Bhutan Canada Foundaton I am leaving for Bhutan in January 2012 for a stint as a teacher.